Theatre Under The Stars is hosting the national tour of Flashdance The Musical for the next two weeks. Whatever TUTS staff person chose this offering for Houston audiences needs to go back to theatre school or perhaps consult a few critics before bringing in this second-rate musical offering for Houston audiences’ unenjoyment. Not every film maketh a good musical and Flashdance is a perfect example. In its current condition, Flashdance The Musical will be laughed off of Broadway if it even gets there. So why doesn’t the show work?

Let’s begin with the mostly forgettable score by Robbie Roth. The songs that made the movie musical work, “Maniac,” “Manhunt,” “Gloria,” “I Love Rock and Roll,” are still in place and are nice to hear but the new music is mostly forgettable, with the exception of “Remember Me,” “Here and Now,” and “Where I Belong.” The second act actually works much better that the first musically. Lyrics by Robbie Roth and Robert Cary are so trite they sound as if they were written by children.

The book by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary is funny at times but instead of focusing mostly on Alex and her desire to audition to become a trained dancer at the Shipley School and her love interest with her boss, the book becomes a tedious maze through the lives of secondary characters who do little or nothing to advance the main plot. It seems that the main focus here is jumping from one production number to the next as quickly as possible. And the end result is that we end up not particularly caring about the characters whom we meet onstage. My advice? Write some better songs with better lyrics!

Sergio Trujillo‘s choreography, an interesting blend of ballet, jazz, modern, and street dancing, is, by far, the most thrilling aspect of the show. The dancing here is unbridled energy times a million and makes the show worth experiencing. Mr. Trujillo’s direction here is questionable. It seems his attempt to reinvent the show has just made a bigger mess of it. My advice? Keep his excellent choreography and hire another director.

Jillian Mueller as Alex Owens, although an accomplished singer and actress, never gets off the ground when it comes to her dancing. Her audition piece for the Shipley School should be as exciting as Cassie’s big number in A Chorus Line, and although she gets all of the steps right, she does not piece them together with any sense of style or grace and she never would have made the cut with the audition I saw her give last night. Her heart is in the right place but her technique is simplistic and immature to say the least. Why didn’t director Trujillo cast a dancer who can sing and act rather than a singer and actor who can dance? You got me. There is so little sexual energy between Ms. Mueller and her stage partner, Matthew Hydzik, that there is not enough heat between them to melt a pat of butter.

Speaking of the handsome Matthew Hydzik as Nick Hurley, he is the best piece of this flawed production. I simply could not get enough of his exquisitely gorgeous tenor voice, his fine acting, and his daunting stage presence.

Dequina Moore, a graduate of Houston’s HSPVA, is fabulous as Kiki. Katie Webber is striking as Tess. Kelly Felthous steals the stage as the troubled Gloria.

Dan Kohler is excellent as Jimmy. Christian Whelan is sleazy and creepy as hell as C.C. Jo Ann Cunningham is perfect as Hannah. Matthew Henerson is great as Harry.

Ryan Carlson steals much of stage with his incredible break dancing and acrobatics. Derek Carley is a standout as Andy.

Scenic design by Klara Zieglerova is one of my favorite aspects of the show. Screens and curtains move in and out to reveal new settings with ease to our amazement.

Costume design by Paul Tazewell perfectly captures the 80s look of the production.

Lighting design by Howell Binkley perfectly illuminates the stage. His lighting through much fog adds great effect and atmosphere.

Peter Nigrini’s projection design is nothing short of magnificent.

Nate Patten expertly conducts the six-person band while playing two keyboards.

Flashdance The Musical plays at the Hobby Center through Sunday, June 19th.